Dice game with a tetrahedron die



p 28,1965 F. F. s. SlEVE 3,208,754

DICE GAME WITH A TETRAHEDRON DIE Filed Feb. 20, 1963 g I A A IN NT FREDOA F-S SIEVE United States Patent 3,208,754 DICE GAME WITH A TETRAHEDRON DIE Fredda F. S. Sieve, 450 E. 63rd St., New York, NY. Filed Feb. 20, 1963, Ser. No. 259,964 4 Claims. (Cl. 273-146) The invention relates to a novel game comprising a plurality of separate solids having a plurality of separate surfaces, said solids being capable of coming to a position of rest so that only one of the said surfaces is in a common reading position on each solid, and a tetrahedron.

Various games employing dice have become popular over the years but usually these invlove complicated playing boards and other accessories and intricate rules. However many people prefer less complicated and more compact games which are still able to create and hold the interest of people over relatively long periods of time.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel game comprising a plurality of solids capable of being thrown in a fashion similar to dice, one of the said solids being a tetrahedron.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become obvious from the following detailed description.

The novel game of the invention is comprised of a plurality of separate solids having a plurality of separate surfaces bearing an identifying indicia thereon, said solids being capable of coming to a position of rest so that only one of the said surfaces of each solid is in a common reading position, and a tetrahedron solid whose surfaces bear an identifying indicia thereon. When the said solids and the tretrahedron are thrown together such as with the dice cup, one surface of each of the said solids is in a common reading position and three surfaces of the tetrahedron may be read. Various rules can be used for scoring in the game using the indicia on the three showing faces of the tetrahedron and the indicia on each of the other solids in the common reading position.

The said solids may be of any desired shape so long as there is always one surface of the solid in a common reading position no matter how the solid is lying. Due to their natural form, the solids are preferably selected. from the group consisting of cubes, octahedrons, dode cahedrons and icosahedrons. The number of solids may vary from two to any desired number but it is preferred not to use more than four solids in addition to the tetrahedron for ease of handling.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the invention:

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate two random positions of the solids and tetrahedron obtained when they were thrown together on a flat surface.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the solids are a dodecarhedron A, a cube B, an icosahedron C, and an octahedron D with the tetrahedron E in the center. The surfaces of each of the solids are consecutively numbered from 1 to the total number of surfaces of the solids. For example, the surfaces of the tetrahedron E are numbered from 1 to 4 and the surfaces of the dodecarhedron A are numbered from 1 to 12 while the icosahedron C surfaces are numbered from 1 to 20. Instead of numerals on the surfaces of the solids, other identifying indicia such as varying numbers of dots or dashes or other indications may be used.

In FIG. 1 the surface of the dodecahedron A bearing the numeral 8, the surface of the cube B bearing the numeral 6, the surface of the icosahedron C bearing the numeral 14 and the surface of the octahedron D bearing the number 3 are all in a common reading position while the surfaces of the tetrahedron E bearing the numbers 1, 3 and 4 are in a reading position. These numbers can now be used in the scoring of the game.

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In FIG. 2 which represents another random throw of the solids, the icosahedron C surface numbered 5, the cube B surface numbered 6, the dodecahedron A surface numbered 6 and the octahedron D surface numbered 6 are in a common reading position while the tetrahedron E surfaces numbered 1, 2 and 4 are in a reading position.

Various methods of keeping score in the game may be used but in any variation of the game the important feature of the game is the use of the tetrahedron since it has three numbered faces showing which may be read and it functions similarly to a wild card in card games. Since it has three faces which can be read, it increases the possible combinations.

The game can be played by two or more people and does not require any playing board or complicated accessories as in other prior art games. The game is played by each player throwing in his turn all the solids at once and determining his score with the rotation of players being repeated until one player reaches a predetermined score.

One example of a method of scoring for the game, using FIGS. 1 and 2 for illustrative purposes, is adding all paired or matching numerals on the faces of the solids in reading position and any number greater than 12 which may appear on the icosahedron for the score from one toss. Various bonus amounts can be given if 3, 4 or 5 of the surfaces in the reading position have the same numeral. The winning total can be any arbitrarily agreedupon amount such as or 250 points.

In the illustration shown in FIG. 1, the octahedron D shows the numeral 3 and the tetrahedron E also shows the numeral 3 in the reading position and the icosahedron C shows the number 14. Therefore, the score for the throw of the solids in FIG. 1 is 3+3+l4 or a total of 20 points. The numbers on the dodecahedron A and the cube B are not counted since they do not match with any other number in a reading position.

In FIG. 2 the octahedron D, dodecahedron A and the cube B all have the number 6 in the reading position. The score for the throw illustrated in FIG. 2 would, therefore, be 6+6+6+bonus or 18 points plus a bonus for having three matching numbers. The icosahedron C has number 5 in its reading position which is not greater than 12 and which does not match any number on the tetrahedron E. Therefore, the numbers on the tetrahedron and the icosahedron are not counted.

Other methods of scoring may be used. For example, instead of merely adding the sum of paired or matched numbers in the reading position, the matched number may be multiplied by the total number of surfaces on the solids on which the number occurs. For example, in FIG. 1 since the number 3 appears on the tetrahedron E and the octahedron D the score would be 3 times (4+8) which is the total number of the surfaces on the two solids for a total score of 36. In FIG. 2, since the number 6 appears on the octahedron D, the cube B and the dodecahedron A, the point score would be 6 times (8+6+l2) or 156 points plus any bonus for having three matched surfaces.

The solids may be made out of any suitable material such as wood, ivory, metal, etc. but plastic is preferred because it is inexpensive and relatively light as well as being sturdy. If desired, the solids can be balanced so g at they cannot be controlled any more than normal ice.

Various modifications of the game of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit or scope thereof and it is to be understood that the invention is intended to be limited only as defined in the appended calims.

I claim:

1. A game of the character described comprising a single die, shaped as a tetrahedron and providing four faces, different indicia on each of said faces distinguishing from the indicia on the other faces, a set of dice at least equal in number to the number of faces on said tetrahedron die, each die of said set having more faces than the number of faces on said tetrahedron die, the faces on each die of said set having different indica thereon, at least one said indicium being identical with the indicium on one face of said tetrahedron die.

2. A game as defined in claim 1 wherein the dice of said set are separate solids each having a different geometric configuration, said solids being capable of coming to a position of rest so that only one face of each solid is in a common reading position.

3. A game as defined in claim 1 wherein the dice of said set are separate solids, the indicia on the faces of each solid being in the form of consecutive numbers from 1 to the number of faces on said solid, said solids being capable of coming to a position of rest so that only one of the faces of each solid is in a common reading position, the indicia on the faces of said tetrahedron being in the form of consecutive numbers from 1 to 4.

4. A game as defined in claim 1 wherein the dice of said set comprise a cube, an octahedron, a dodecahedron, and an icosahedron, the indicia on the faces of each of said dice and said tetrahedron being in the form of consecutive numbers from 1 to the total number of faces on the die.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 645,112 3/00 Mapes 273146 723,314 3/03 Roth 273l46 1,223,365 4/17 Breitung 273-146 1,555,447 9/25 Bernstein 273146 1,587,127 6/26 Monson 273147 2,583,805 1/52 Astle 273147 2,922,652 1/ 60 Stange 273-146 FOREIGN PATENTS 358,725 10/31 Great Britain.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. 

1. A GAME OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED COMPRISING A SINGLE DIE, SHAPED AS A TETRAHEDRON AND PROVIDING FOUR FACES, DIFFERENT INDICIA ON EACH OF SAID FACES DISTINGUISHING FROM THE INDICIA ON THE OTHER FACES, A SET OF DICE AT LEAST EQUAL IN NUMBER TO THE NUMBER OF FACES ON SAID TETRAHEDRON DIE, EACH DIE OF SAID SET HAVING MORE FACES THAN THE NUMBER OF FACES ON SAID TETRAHEDRON DIE, THE FACES ONE EACH DIE OF SAID SET HAVING DIFFERENT INDICIA THEREON, AT LEAST ONE SAID INDICIUM BEING IDENTICAL WITH THE INDICIUM ON ONE FACE OF SAID TETRAHEDRON DIE. 